Separated by Force: Afstandsmoeders in the Netherlands

In 1967 raakte Will van Sebille zwanger en werd onder druk gezet om haar zoon af te staan. Lange tijd vocht ze om haar zoon terug te krijgen, maar de autoriteiten bleven redenen verzinnen waarom dit niet mogelijk was. Uiteindelijk werd de zoon van Will geadopteerd in een ander gezin en het duurde tientallen jaren voordat ze elkaar eindelijk voor het eerst ontmoetten.
Sinds de jaren 90 strijdt Will van Sebille voor de Nederlandse afstandsmoeders. Ze richtte de organisatie De Nederlandse afstandsmoeder op, publiceerde haar boek Opgestaan ​​is plaats vergaan en nam deel aan de documentaire In alle Stilte.
Omdat Will de traumatische ervaring uit het verleden niet wil herbeleven, wordt er gebruik gemaakt van opnames uit een eerder interview. In de tweede helft van deze podcast gaat Will van Sebille spreken over haar activisme en het lopende onderzoek door de Nederlandse staat.

Website De Nederlandse Afstandsmoeder: http://www.denederlandseafstandsmoeder.org/

Produced by Sarah Tekath in collaboration with Broadcast Amsterdam
More information: https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/shows/separated-by-force/

© Sarah Tekath/Broadcast Amsterdam

In 1967, Will van Sebille got pregnant and was pressured to give up her son. For a long time, she was fighting to get her son back, but the authorities kept making up reasons why this was not possible. In the end, Will’s son was adopted into another family and it took several decades until they finally met for the first time.
Since the 1990s, Will van Sebille is fighting for the Dutch afstandsmoeders. She has founded the organisation De Nederlandse afstandsmoeder, published her book Opgestaan is plaats vergaan and she took part in the documentary In alle Stilte.
As Will does not wish to relive the traumatic experience of the past, audio files from a previous interview will be used. In the second half of this podcast, Will van Sebille is going to speak about her activism and the current investigation by the Dutch state.
Website De Nederlandse Afstandsmoeder: http://www.denederlandseafstandsmoeder.org/

Special thanks for the voice-over to Martina Novak: https://www.martinan.com/

Produced by Sarah Tekath in collaboration with Broadcast Amsterdam
More information: https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/shows/separated-by-force/

© Sarah Tekath/Broadcast Amsterdam

In de jaren 60 raakte Trudy Scheele-Gertsen op 21-jarige leeftijd zwanger. Omdat ze ongehuwd was, werd ze naar het moeder-babyhuis Paula Stichting gebracht waar ze bevallen was van haar zoon en onder druk werd gezet om hem af te staan. 50 jaar later, in 2019, besloot Trudy de Nederlandse staat aan te klagen wegens onrecht dat haar was aangedaan. Zij wordt bijgestaan ​​door mensenrechtenadvocaat Lisa-Marie Komp die in de tweede aflevering van deze podcast spreekt over de juridische situatie.
Trudy heeft besloten dat ze haar traumatische ervaring niet wil herhalen voor deze podcast. Maar ze heeft ermee ingestemd dat opnames van een interview in 2020 mogen worden gebruikt. Je hoort haar voorlezen uit haar boek Een kind krijg je voor het leven

Produced by Sarah Tekath in collaboration with Broadcast Amsterdam
More information: https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/shows/separated-by-force/

© Sarah Tekath/Broadcast Amsterdam

In the 1960s, at the age of 21, Trudy Scheele-Gertsen got pregnant. As she was unmarried, she was brought to the mother baby home Paula Stichting where she gave birth to her son and was pressured to give him up. 50 years later, in 2019, Trudy decided to sue the Dutch state for injustice she was put through. She is represented by human rights lawyer Lisa-Marie Komp who speaks about the legal situation in the second episode of this podcast.
Trudy has decided that she doesn’t wish to repeat her traumatic experience for this podcast. But she has agreed that audio files from an interview in 2020 may be used. You will hear her reading from her book Een kind krijg je voor het leven.

Special thanks for the voice-over to Martina Novak: https://www.martinan.com/

Produced by Sarah Tekath in collaboration with Broadcast Amsterdam
More information: https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/shows/separated-by-force/

© Sarah Tekath/Broadcast Amsterdam

Het moeder-kind-tehuis Moederheil in Breda was een van de grootste van Nederland. In 1972, op een leeftijd van 24, begon psycholoog Harlinde van Osselaer daar te werken. Al snel merkte ze daar dat het voor een plek waar altijd meerdere baby's waren ontzettend stil was. Later ontdekkte ze waarom. In deze aflevering beschrijft Harlinde het moeder-kind-tehuis Moederheil, haar werk met de moeders en de baby's en haar poging om de procedures in Moederheil te verbeteren.

Produced by Sarah Tekath in collaboration with Broadcast Amsterdam
More information: https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/shows/separated-by-force/

© Sarah Tekath/Broadcast Amsterdam

The mother-baby-home Moederheil in Breda was one of the biggest in the Netherlands. In 1972, at an age of 24 years old, psychologist Harlinde van Osselaer started working there. Quickly, she noticed that for a place where multiple babies lived, it was awfully quiet. Soon she’d find out why. In this episode, Harlinde describes the mother-baby-home Moederheil, her work with the mothers and the babies and her attempt to improve the procedures at Moederheil.

Special thanks for the voice-over to Martina Novak: https://www.martinan.com/

Produced by Sarah Tekath in collaboration with Broadcast Amsterdam
More information: https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/shows/separated-by-force/

© Sarah Tekath/Broadcast Amsterdam

Human Rights Lawyer Lisa-Marie Komp represents afstandsmoeder Trudy Scheele-Gertsen against the Dutch state. In this episode, she explains the legal situation of the time from 1956 till 1984. Furthermore, she will talk about the legal advice young unmarried pregnant women have been given, the responsibilities of the child care and protection board and what should have been done in order to protect the bond between a mother and her baby.

In this episode Lisa-Marie Komp explains that there is an appointment in court on the 6th of September 2021. Since the recording of this episode, this appointment has been postponed to the 24th of September 2021.

Produced by Sarah Tekath in collaboration with Broadcast Amsterdam
More information: https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/shows/separated-by-force/

© Sarah Tekath/Broadcast Amsterdam

In order to understand how a situation like the one of the afstandsmoeders in the Netherlands was possible, it is important to understand what the country looked like in those days. Dr. Nelleke Bakker is an Associate Professor of History of Education at the University of Groningen and she will explain in this episode, what made the society tick, which institutions had the strongest influence, how the role of women was seen within the society and wether giving up their babies was the only option for afstandsmoeders.

Sources: - Nelleke Bakker, In the interests of the child: psychiatry, adoption, and the emancipation of the single mother and her child - the case of the Netherlands (1945-1970), Paedagogica Historica 55 (2019:1), 121-136
N. van den Boomen et al., Beklemd in de scharnieren van de tijd. Beleid, praktijk en ervaringen van afstand ter adoptie door niet-gehuwde moeders in Nederland tussen 1956 en 1984 (Nijmegen: WODC/Radboud Universiteit, 2017)

Produced by Sarah Tekath in collaboration with Broadcast Amsterdam
More information: https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/shows/separated-by-force/

© Sarah Tekath/Broadcast Amsterdam

Between 1956 and 1984, thousands of unmarried, pregnant women in the Netherlands were forced to give their babies away. This podcast discovers this dark chapter of Dutch history by hearing the experience of the women as well as the children. Furthermore, legal experts and historians will explain the social situation during that time in order to give attention to the injustice that has been done to Dutch women and their children for decades.

Producer and presented by Sarah Tekath

Production partner: Stichting Broadcast Amsterdam